January 2021: Thank you, Vanguard

Dear Vanguard,

Today is my final day as a crew member. As I embark on my next journey as an Associate Wealth Advisor at Financial Coach, I wanted to thank you for making the start of my career so special.

8 years ago, you took a chance on an unpolished summer intern who performed a poem at the College to Corporate Capstone event. You developed that intern into an MBA and CFP® with sales, leadership, and financial planning experience. You matured a Penn State frat boy into the husband, dad, and friend that I am today. Through your mission, your people, and your culture, you instilled principles in me that I’ll continue to live by as a community member and trusted advisor.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a chance to connect with many former colleagues and friends to recount old memories and reflect on how far we’ve come. Through our conversations and email exchanges, I was reminded of important lessons that I learned from my time at Vanguard. So to properly say “Good bye,” I’d like to propose a toast to three key takeaways that I’ll never forget.

1.      The power of compounding:

I spent most of my time at Vanguard in meaningful discussions with clients about the benefits of investing, the importance of planning, and the power of compounding. But when I think about my own professional learning and development journey in my 20s, my personal growth pattern looks very similar to the classic chart that we show new investors making their first contribution to a Roth IRA or 401(k). And I sure hope that this pattern continues on the same trajectory as the purple line pictured below.

I greatly benefitted from the investments you made in my training and education. Each concept that I learned led to new questions which led to better resources which led to bigger opportunities which led to breakthrough experiences for my personal development. Along the way, skilled and dedicated coaches helped me craft and implement thoughtful plans to set the right goals, take the right risks, maintain the right balance, and stay on the right course. Then day after day, this personal and professional growth seemed to compound itself. With consistent investment and disciplined patience, I’m pretty happy with where my ending balance stands today.

As I transition from Vanguard crew member to like-minded independent advisor (that will use plenty of Vanguard ETFs, of course), I will simply rollover my compounded returns and use these assets in my new role to advance your mission of giving people the best chance for financial success.  

My time at Vanguard taught me the power of compounding in more ways than one.

2.      Do the right thing:

It was an honor to work for a company founded on a mission to do the right thing.  You constructed a unique ownership structure to avoid conflicts of interests.  You challenged industry norms and blazed a trail for investment managers and financial services professionals that were committed to take a stand for investors. You powered a flywheel that continues to positively change the way the world invests. And even after a half century of unprecedented growth, you developed an internal culture that seems to keep getting better at doing the hard things for the right reasons.    

2020 was a perfect example of that. All year, you took bold action and made creative decisions to make sure we felt safe, supported, and included. You challenged us to work in new ways and discuss uncomfortable but important topics. You helped me become a more inclusive teammate and more open minded person. You consistently showed me that doing the right thing and taking care of others will allow us all to flourish in the long run.

The positive example you have set since your founding, and especially this year, is how I intend to conduct my career and my life going forward.  Although it’s time to turn in my headset, my laptop, and my G-tag, I promise to never lose sight of this mantra. 

My time at Vanguard taught me that whenever in doubt, always do the right thing.

3. Work with great people:

Throughout my Vanguard career, I had the privilege to lead, work for, and serve with an incredible collection of people. These colleagues shaped the path that I’m on and the person I am. Some fellow crew members did this through powerful conversations, but most of them simply influenced me by the example they set and the little habits I borrowed along the way. For example, I won’t forget:

…my sales partner who consistently modeled the highest standards of client service, communication, and teamwork that I’ll hold myself accountable to for the rest of my career.

…the leaders who rarely seemed to give a definitive answer, but instead always asked that question that would spark curiosity or inspire action. 

…the mentees who showed the same kind of engagement when meeting with me that I felt when meeting with my favorite mentors. 

…the peers that challenged me to get a little better every day.  Especially the guy who never complained about metrics, but instead always picked up the phone before me, and didn’t stop making phone calls until after I left for the day.

…the teammates and friends that always made the work day more fun whether it was their antics in Series 7 training in 2013, the happy hours and intramural sports seasons through the years, or the daily banter on the Microsoft Teams chat in 2020. 

…the role models that represented not only how I want to conduct myself at work, but also who I want to be to my family, friends, and community.  

This chapter of my career taught me that life is better when you work with great people.

So on my final day as a crew member, as I reflect on these three lessons and think about what I’m most grateful for during my time at Vanguard, this thought came to mind: 

I once heard happiness described as being able to answer those Monday morning/Friday evening questions.

On Monday morning, do you have work that gives you a sense of purpose and dignity? And on Friday evening, are you going home to spend time with family and friends whom you love?

Vanguard enabled me to proudly answer those questions every single week for the last seven years. And for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

Thank you for everything,

Kevin Janiec (Crew member: 2013-2021)